For the managment of the Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, makers of Fanta and Sprite, these are not the best of times. After the recent discovery that the two products contained high levels of benzoic and ascorbic acid, Isaac Adewole, minister of Health, promptly set up a panel to investigate the matter.
Adewole assured Nigerians that the federal government had convened a group of experts, including food scientists and nutritionists, to access the safety of preservatives being added to the beverages. He promised to also meet with officials of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, to find out extent of culpability of the company.
“Nigerians are justifiably angry as it concerns the recent verdict of a case involving an exporter. I have instructed NAFDAC to liaise with SON to address Nigerians immediately concerning the safety of Coca-Cola products made locally,” said the minister.
A Lagos State High Court recently ordered NAFDAC to direct the NBC to include a warning on the labels of Fanta and Sprite bottles that the products could not be taken with Vitamin C. Dupe Atoki, director-general, Consumer Protection Council, CPS, said the council would also carry out a detailed investigation into the laboratory processes as well as all the composition of the company’s products.